A. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of art of volume ventilators.
B. PRIOR ART
For respiratory ailments such as lung disease, chest injury and muscular disease, it has been necessary to ventilate the lungs of a patient by artifical means. Such intensive respiratory care has been provided by volume ventilators. However, prior volume ventilators have had drawbacks in providing a high degree of accuracy, predictability, and independence in controlling differing parameters as sigh, assist, inspiratory pause, etc. There has in the past been an interaction between individual settings so that when one control setting of a parameter has been adjusted, there has been undesirable changes in one or more other settings. As a result, when making a single setting change, most of the other settings were required to be checked and appropriate resettings made.
A further drawback in prior volume ventilators has been the lack of integrating the many modes of operation in one unitary system and particularly integrating the IMV mode. Still further, prior ventilators left much to be desired in detecting malfunctions and providing alarms. There has not been a comprehensive system of alarms which would indicate failure in the electronics, in the pneumatics and in the circuit to the patient.